September 2006 Archives

Who Is Jesus to You?
Mark 8:27-38
September 17, 2006
Rev. Nancy Pfaltzgraf
They've been together for some time now, Jesus and the disciples. They've heard him teach, they've watched him heal; they've seen the way he treats those that the religious system labels as outcasts, people undeserving of God's love and unworthy of a place in the household of faith. They've been together for some time now and in Mark's telling of the story, they have begun what will be the final phase of the journey, moving toward Jerusalem, heading to Golgotha. Jesus knows it's time, time to see how they've understood what they've experienced; time to address any issues they have; time to clear up any misconceptions that will keep them from true following. So it is that he asks them "Who do the people say I am?"
"Some say you are John the Baptizer, come back to life to demand repentance. Others say you are Elijah, sent to prepare the way for God's anointed one. Still others say you are like one of the prophets of old specially gifted to speak a word from God."
But what others say is really not the question is it? What others say is of far less importance to Jesus than what is in the hearts and minds of those who have responded to his invitation to follow him.
"OK, that's what they think, but you: Who am I to you?"
I can well imagine that a moment of tense silence gripped the air as Jesus' question hung unanswered. It's always easier to say what other people think, than it is to declare one's own belief, isn't it? But finally Peter responds, "You are the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One."
What happens next is troubling, confusing, puzzling. Jesus offers no affirmations of Peter's astounding declaration. Jesus simply warns them "to keep it quiet," Some translations even say he sternly ordered them to keep quiet. Does Jesus command silence because it's not yet time for outsiders to know the truth about who he is? There are some who have read this passage and reach that conclusion. But in light of what follows, I wonder if it isn't because Jesus knows what Messiah means to them - one who will raise an army on God's behalf and with God's power vanquish the Roman oppressors and restore the glory of the nation of Israel- and that's not who Jesus knows himself to be and that's not how he understands what God has sent him to do.
Jesus knows that it will be essential for them to understand that it is the power of God's radical, welcoming love that will lead them to life. He also knows that such love threatens the power and authority of the religious officials who claim to speak for God and determine who is in and who is out. So he goes on to talk about the suffering that he senses awaits them in Jerusalem, because he knows that to truly do what God has sent him to do, he has to live that love, no matter what.
Peter could not handle it. This is not what he signed on for. A messiah was supposed to make the world a better place; get rid of evil; wipe out the enemy; assure him of a future filled with prosperity. (We know how Peter feels don't we?) Peter thought he knew best and in an effort to rid Jesus of his crazy notions, "Peter grabbed Jesus in protest." Some translations even say "Peter rebuked Jesus"
But Jesus will have none of it! "Peter, get out of my way! Satan, get lost!" Or as other translations have it, "Get behind me, Satan."
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Now to grasp what Jesus is saying here, we need to understand two important things. First of all, we have personified "Satan" in a way that is far different than ancient understandings. The word translated as Satan with a capital "S" simply means an adversary or one opposed to God's will. It was a descriptive phrase, not an allusion to a demonic being. So it is that Jesus says to Peter: "You have no idea how God works." Second if we were reading this text in Greek or Aramaic, and if we had been paying attention to the whole of the story, we would see that Jesus used the very same verb that he used when he called Peter to be his disciple. In his call to discipleship Jesus literally said "Come follow behind me." Here Jesus says, "Go, follow behind me," or "return to following behind me." In other words, Jesus is saying is, "Peter, remember I am the teacher, you are the student. You have no idea how God is working. So come on follow me; let me lead; trust me with your life."
Who is Jesus to you?
My answer to that question has changed many times over the course of my life. Today, I would answer it this way:
I believe that Jesus is the complete embodiment of the Divine. I believe that when we look at Jesus -how he lived, what he did, what he said, how he treated people- we see a complete reflection of who and what God is. But, I also believe that we see the best of what we all can be. I believe that we see what we are all created to become -complete embodiments of Divine Love, Compassion, Mercy, Grace, Forgiveness, Acceptance, Challenge, Creativity, and the like.
In Jesus, we see a life so completely and totally open to God, that Divine energy and power were constantly flowing, pulsing, moving through him. The way of Jesus and thus the way of God is a way of love; love that empowers, love that transforms, love that sometimes confronts and rebukes. Jesus chose his words and actions out of that love and he calls all who would be his disciples to do the same. Jesus was willing to embrace all of life, knowing that it is only when we do so that we become all that we are created to be and he calls all who would be his disciples to live in the same way.
Jesus does not want us to believe in him as much as he wants us to follow him into the heart of Divine Love there to be shaped by the Master Potter and tempered in the Refiner's Fire.
Who is Jesus to you? And more importantly will you let Christ lead you into the Heart of Divine Love?

Can You Hear Me Now?
Mark 7:31-37 (The Message)
September 10, 2006
Rev. Nancy Pfaltzgraf
Do you recognize this guy? You have, no doubt, seen the commercials with him walking to various random spots with a cell phone saying, "Can you hear me now?" No matter how remote or odd the place is, the person on the other end of the phone seems to be able to hear him, because he always replies "Good," before moving to the next spot.
And have you seen the ads for the Migo -a cell phone for kids? It has just five buttons -one for 911 and four that parents can program so that no matter where the kid is, Mom or Dad or another care giver is just a push button away. Wouldn't it be great if our heavenly parent gave each of us such a cell phone? Push a button and when the Creator of the Universe answers, we can make our plea, ask our question or state our complaint! Then we'd know for sure our prayers were heard, wouldn't we? Maybe. But maybe, if God didn't respond right away we'd still move to a different spot to get better reception and ask "Can you hear me, now?"
Song "Papa, Can You Hear Me?"
"Can You Hear Me? Can You Hear Me Now?" We sometimes wonder if God really can hear our prayers, don't we? But what if God is asking the same question of us? What if God is on the other end of a cosmic cell phone asking, "Can You Hear Me? Can You Hear Me? Can You Hear Me Now?" Over the past few years "God is still speaking" has become a common phrase in United Church of Christ congregations around the world. "God is still speaking," but, are we listening?
In today's scripture we heard a story about a man - unable to hear or speak- who was brought to Jesus, the Healer. Whereupon, Jesus put his fingers in the man's ears and some spit on the man's tongue, prayed groaned mightily, and commanded, "Ephphatha!--Open up!" And the man's hearing was clear and his speech plain.
Now this is a very earthy and particular story; fingers in the ears, spit on the tongue, a groan and a word, "Ephphatha!" This is no doubt a real miracle that happened to a real man. But I believe its truth for our lives is far deeper than just bearing witness to what Jesus did for one person a long time ago. I believe it points to God's deep desire that all of us listen, hear and understand. God is still speaking, God is always still speaking, but like the deaf man we cannot hear clearly; perhaps because we don't actually expect God to speak -at least not to us; we don't know how to listen for God's voice; or we simply don't take the time to pay attention to what God might be trying to say to us.
In the introduction of her book, Invisible Acts of Power: Personal Choices that Create Miracles, Caroline Myss writes:
Every time someone says, "God, please help me," the universe hears. The gods may let you practically drown before they respond and send you a boat -because you are here in this Earth School to learn how to build a boat and how to row it- but they will respond. ... And once you ask, once you open your mind and heart to the possibility of an answer, you will get an answer, even though it may not be the one you want or in the form you expect.
In the remainder of the book Myss, who describes herself as a Medical Intuitive, shares wisdom and stories to help each of us open up our intuition so that we can hear the many accents of God's still-speaking voice.
One story that particularly struck me was by a young woman who wrote:
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After having a stranger show up at my door with rent money for me and my child one hour before my landlord confronted me with a demand to leave, I never needed proof again that I was being looked after by heaven. This person overheard my weeping at a table in a restaurant when I told my friend I was desperate because I could no longer protect my daughter. This man, my Good Samaritan, slipped a note to my friend asking for my name and address. He showed up at my door that afternoon with $550. Because of him, my daughter was spared the trauma of homelessness and I was spared the loss of my dignity as a mother.
As I read this story I thought "all three of the people in this story had to hear, listen to and respond to a deeper voice in order for this miracle to happen!" The Good Samaritan had to listen to the nudging of his heart that told him to help this woman. This woman's friend had to listen to the nudging of her heart that told her she could trust that this man was only interested in helping her friend. And the young mother had to listen to the nudging of her heart and trust that the man at her door meant her no harm. That's a lot of listening and a lot of trusting isn't it?
But as Myss says, "We really can make a profound difference when we listen to our intuition and act on it."
I received a tangible reminder of the truth of this statement in a letter, which I just happened to I receive this week. It was written to our congregation from Donna Legacy's daughter Kristen, who wrote on behalf of herself and her brother Brian.
Brian and I will never be able to fully express to you how thankful we are that you were in our mother's life. Over the past year Mom's faith in the kindness of others was restored largely because of the amazing church family she found.
Brian and I were so happy to hear how much she loved her "new" church. She has been looking for some time to find a church home and not just a place to go on Sundays. She found that home with all of you. The way you welcomed her with open arms touched our mother deeply. Your love, support and extraordinary kindness amazed her.
You have made a huge impact on Brian and me and have taught us so much in such a short time. Our mother was and is our inspiration. She was so amazingly strong and held on so tightly to her faith throughout her illness. We believe that she was our angel in life as she is in death. We also believe that because of all of you, her faith only got stronger as she became sicker.
Thank you for being the church that you are and thank you for being so wonderful to our mother.
Yes, God is still speaking and when we listen and act miracles of all kinds do occur. But like the man in our story, we need to allow Christ to put his fingers in our ears and spit on our tongues so that we too can hear clearly and speak plainly.
One Friday, several different times, in several different places I tried to make a call with my cell phone, but no calls would go through. Since these were places where I usually have a strong cell signal, I thought, maybe I didn't have enough strength in my battery to pick up the tower signal. But even after recharging the battery I was unable to make a call so I wondered if my network was having a problem or if my cell phone was in the process of dying. When I called Tom from church to tell him I was on the way home, but that my cell phone wouldn't work, he reminded me of something I should have known from a previous experience when he asked, "Have you tried turning it off and back on?" You guessed it, as soon as I did, my phone worked!
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God is still speaking, but we need to have some regular way of rebooting our system, some way of allowing Christ to touch our ears and our hearts, so that we can hear clearly and speak plainly.
Each week you hear me say that breathing deeply helps to open our hearts, minds and spirits to the ever-present, always speaking God. I do so, because I have discovered the power of this simple rebooting of my system, especially when I combine that breathing with a simple breath prayer. First a word about breathing: the kind of breathing that helps reboot our system begins by allowing our diaphragm to push down, expanding our belly and allowing our lungs to fill from the bottom to the top. Then exhaling by contracting the belly and pushing the air out from the bottom to the top. Both done very slowly. Let's try it.....
Now combine that with a simple phrase repeated in the mind on each inhalation and you will really enhance your hearing. On the handout in your bulletin and on the screen you will see five simple phrases that can be done in a cycle. Let's try it.
On the inhalation: May I be at peace. On the exhalation - stillness
Brad- advance each of the following about 3 seconds after the previous appears
On the inhalation: May my heart remain open. On the exhalation - stillness
On the inhalation: May I awaken to the light of my own true nature. On the exhalation - stillness
On the inhalation: May I be healed. On the exhalation - stillness
On the inhalation: May I be a source of healing for all beings. On the exhalation - stillness
Repeat this cycle for just 3-5 minutes in the morning and at night or whenever during the day you're feeling tense, stressed or just out of sync and I promise you when your Cosmic cell phone rings and God says, "Can you hear me now?" You'll be able to respond, "Yes, lord, I'm listening." And God will say, "Good!" And miracles will happen!